Tuesday, March 6, 2018

In 2017, Gainesville, Florida athletes Sergei Zyrianov and Lyubov Denisova won the men's and women's titles at Albany, Georgia's eleventh annual Snickers® Marathon. A year later, you could re-use the 2017 headlines, because on Saturday morning, 3 March 2018, Zyrianov was the top man at the twelfth annual Snickers® Marathon, and Denisova was the first woman. Zyrianov cruised the 26.2-mile course in 2:23:48, while Denisova finished sixth overall in 2:47:10.

Zyrianov took the lead early in the race and then never relinquished it, finishing the race more than 800 meters ahead of the field. Late in the first half of the race, Columbus, Georgia athlete David Marley overtook Nathan Haskins of Marietta, Georgia, moving into second place. Marley held the runner-up spot for the rest of the race, finishing in 2:26:44. Marley had been fourth in the 2016 Snickers® Marathon. Haskins was third overall in 2:29:20.

Denisova was not only the first woman in the race, she was also the first master runner. The Gainesville athlete took control of the women's race just before the halfway point, moving ahead of Natasha Yaremczuk of Montverde, Florida. During the second half of the race the marathon belonged to Denisova, as she built up a lead of 1300 meters on her way to a 2:47:10 win. Yaremczuk was second in the women's standings and ninth overall in 2:52:39. Master runner Laura Roberts of Saint Simons Island, Georgia was the third woman and 27th overall in 2:59:03.

Ian Brown of Americus, Georgia was the first male master runner and fifteenth in the men's standings, placing seventeenth overall in 2:56:43.

Top Ten Men, 2018 Albany Marathon

2:23:47.41, Sergei Zyrianov (M, 33) Gainesville, FL

2:26:43.08, David Marley (M, 31) Columbus, GA

2:29:19.36, Nathan Haskins (M, 29) Marietta, GA

2:40:28.41, Carlos Galindo (M, 26) Lawrenceville, GA

2:46:38.69, Jeffrey Oliver (M, 36) Pensacola, FL

2:50:13.21, Joshua Grant (M, 27) Arabi, GA

2:52:18.72, Andrew Mullins (M, 32) Columbus, GA

2:53:51.74, Patrick Whitehead (M, 32) Albany, GA

2:55:28.60, Chad Norton (M, 25) Myrtle Bch, SC

2:55:44.75, Jack Rager (M, 19) Atlanta, GA

Top Ten Women, 2018 Albany Marathon

2:47:09.53, Lyubov Denisova (F, 46) Gainesville, FL

2:52:38.88, Natasha Yaremczuk (F, 37) Montverde, FL

2:59:02.60, Laura Roberts (F, 42) Saint Simons Island, GA

3:03:50.71, Sara Gibson (F, 33) Chattanooga, TN

3:15:30.04, Eva Henck (F, 32) Atlanta, GA

3:16:33.18, Rachel Divincenzo (F, 34) Mason, OH

3:24:53.40, Alyssa Terry (F, 24) Tallahassee, FL

3:27:16.48, Melissa Luke (F, 36) Tifton, GA

3:28:34.59, Anna Wile (F, 30) Meridian, MS

3:28:48.05, Elissa Burack (F, 22) Washington, DC

The Boston Athletic Association Marathon doesn't share it's day in April with a half-marathon, nor is the New York City Marathon paired with a shorter race, but many marathons come with a half-sized sibling. The Snickers® Marathon is one. Mason Chilmonczyk won the 13.1-mile race in 2018 by more than a kilometer, running 1:14:48. Chilmonczyk ran cross-country at Ridgewood High; currently he lives in Atlanta, Georgia where he is doing graduate work in mechanical engineering at Georgia Tech and competing for Team West Stride. David Dement of Atlanta was second in the half-marathon at 1:18:54. Brandon D’Arienzo, a 2017 alumnus and former cross-country runner of Blessed Trinity Catholic High in Roswell, took third in 1:19:24. Jack Westrick of Atlanta was the first master runner in the shorter race, finishing tenth overall in 1:22:13.

Amelia Shea of Charlotte, North Carolina took the half-marathon women's title, placing thirteenth overall in 1:23:29. Not far behind in 1:23:44, Maxey Hebert of McDonough, Georgia was the women's runner up and fourteenth overall. Former Georgia Bulldog distance runner Ann Centner of Blakely, Georgia was third in the women's standings and fifteenth overall in 1:25:05. Marietta, Georgia distance runner Kelly Cameron was the first woman master and ninth female finisher, 35th overall in 1:34:55.